Premier League champions Manchester United will make one final last-ditch attempt to sign coveted FC Barcelona midfield player Cesc Fabregas this summer by lodging a third offer worth £40 million with the Catalans for the former Arsenal captain, according to reports in the Sunday Mirror.

The Red Devils have been keeping close tabs on the Spain international since the end of the previous campaign, with their recently appointed head coach David Moyes having made the capture of the 26-year-old his number one priority of the close-season transfer window.

However, so far the Scot has seen two bids worth £26m and £30m for the playmaker rejected out of hand by the Spanish champions, who are insistent that the player they bought from Arsenal for an initial fee of 29m euros two years ago is not for sale at any price this summer.

Those noises coming out of Camp Nou, though, have not prevented United for preparing a third and final offer worth £40m for the Spaniard, with Moyes understood to be waiting to see if Fabregas gets picked to start Barca’s Liga encounter with Malaga on Sunday night and then in the second leg of their SuperCopa clash with Atletico de Madrid on Wednesday, before deciding whether to go ahead with such an bid.